24 October 2025, Apia, Samoa – Building capacity and promoting knowledge sharing on Waste Management and Pollution Control for Pacific countries are key aims of several vocational training courses now available on the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) e-learning platform.
The platform offers free, self-paced courses on critical environmental topics, providing open and accessible training resources tailored to Pacific needs.
The newest modules available covers Project Management, Financing options for Waste Management, Used Oil Management and Disaster Waste Management. They were developed by the Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific (SWAP) Project through collaboration between SPREP and the University of Newcastle, Australia, with funding from Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
“The original plan for the delivery of the training modules was face-to-face sessions. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainty at the time, the decision was made to shift to online training,” said SWAP Project Coordinator, Ms Julie Pillet.
“The SPREP e-learning platform provided an avenue for capacity building activities to continue for the Pacific at the time but has since developed into a space where users can register and begin learning at any time and at no cost.”
Development and maintenance of the SPREP e-learning platform was made possible through significant investment by the PacWastePlus programme (PWP). In addition, the platform hosts 10 comprehensive training courses with 33 modules developed by PWP also focusing on waste management and pollution control. The courses cover health care waste management, waste technology management, waste audit methodology, sustainable financing, organics management, project management, end-of-life tyre management, asbestos management, disaster waste management, and legislative strengthening. All of which were key thematic areas during the life of the PWP Project.
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In addition to Waste Management and Pollution Control, the e-learning platform provides training in Information Services, including digital tools for e-learning, networks, and Information Technology security, as well as Environmental Governance courses covering environmental data management, indicator reporting tools, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
With these training courses, more are expected to be developed and available on the platform to support SPREP member countries and partners, with modules open to government officials, NGOs, educators, students, community leaders, and anyone interested in learning about waste management and environmental sustainability in the Pacific.
To find out more about the courses available on the SPREP e-learning platform, visit https://learn.sprep.org
The Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific Phase II (SWAP2) Project is funded by the Agence Francaise de Développement (AFD) and executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
SWAP2 contributes to the goals of the Cleaner Pacific Strategy by improving waste infrastructure, building capacity, and fostering regional collaboration. The nine SWAP Pacific islands are Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.
For further information, please visit the SWAP website (https://swap.sprep.org) or contact Ms Julie Pillet, SWAP Project Coordinator, at [email protected].
The Pacific- European Union (EU) Waste Management Programme (PacWastePlus) is a 72-month programme funded by the EU and implemented by Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and will address both the cost-effective and sustainable management of waste and pollution as well as broader impacts including human health and wellbeing, climate change, disaster management, biodiversity conservation and resource recovery.
Priority waste streams include hazardous wastes (specifically asbestos, E-waste and healthcare waste), solid wastes (specifically recyclables, organic waste, disaster waste and bulky waste) and related aspects of wastewater.
Countries participating in the PacWastePlus programme are: Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
Learn more about the PacWastePlus programme by visiting: https://pacwasteplus.org/